Board certified nurse midwifery services are now being offered through Jersey City Medical Center’s OB/Gyn faculty practice on its campus at the Medical Office Building (377 Grand St., Jersey City) and at Hoboken Stop (2 Hudson St.)

Working independently and in conjunction with the hospital’s medical staff, Holistic Women’s Healthcare is intended to empower women by providing them with physiological and psychological support throughout all the stages of their life, from young adulthood through menopause and beyond.

The service encompasses a full range of health care for women that includes gynecologic and family planning services; preconception care; care during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period; and breastfeeding support and follow up. Covered are initial and ongoing comprehensive assessment, diagnosis and treatment.

“My philosophy and that of the American College of Nurse Midwives is to work with the whole woman– body, mind and spirit,” said Teresa Brennan Turi, a Certified Nurse Midwife who has 30 years of professional experience primarily focused on maternity, women’s health and newborn nursing. “I practice very personalized healthcare tailored specifically to each woman as an individual within her own family and cultural context.”

Added Turi, “I partner with each woman throughout the process, whether it is discussing her health in general, life with her partner, or getting healthier before she becomes pregnant. During pregnancy and birthing I can remain her primary provider even if a condition arises that requires physician consultation, collaboration or co-management. Our intention at Jersey City Medical Center’s new Margaret Hague Practice is for a woman to avoid feeling that her care is fragmented or impersonal through an interdisciplinary approach.”

According to Dr. Michael Bimonte, chairman of Jersey City’s Medical Center’s OB/gyn department, the service is intended to enrich the care provided by the medical staff to women both through the childbearing years and later in life.

“There has been a great deal written lately about the benefits of these services – which until recently tended to be available only at major medical institutions in New York City – and the value of offering them hand-in-hand with traditional OB/Gyn services,” said Dr. Bimonte. “The goal is also to make sure these services, particularly in an area like Hudson County, are culturally sensitive. We know that women from different cultures often have different perspectives when it comes to their personal care.”

Such services as prenatal yoga, nutrition services and the availability of doulas have also been offered recently to pregnant women by Jersey City Medical Center’s OB/Gyn department.

Certified nurse midwives are educated in both midwifery and nursing. They earn graduate degrees, complete a midwifery education program accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education, and must pass a national certification examination.

Turi has worked in a similar capacity at Mount Sinai Medical Center within the hospital’s OB/gyn department since 2005, and prior to that at a practice in upstate New York. A full-time Professor in Maternity and Women’s Health Nursing at Felician College, she worked for many years as a labor and delivery R.N. before becoming a midwife in 2002. She holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Nursing and Midwifery.

Most private insurances are accepted. To make an appointment, patients can call 201-792-7929 or 201-309-2380.